Publisher's Summary

In order to stay human, Audrey has built a moat around herself; a moat of books, music, and dreams. It makes her different from the echoes: the sophisticated, emotionless machines, built to resemble and work for the humans.

Daniel is an echo - but he's not like the others. He has feelings he was never designed to have, and cannot explain. And when Audrey is placed in danger, he's determined to save her.

This could be our future.

I love Matt Haig. 'The Radleys' is wonderful and when I see somebody lingering over a copy of 'The Humans' in a bookshop, I can hardly resist the urge to implore them to buy it. I knew Echo Boy was aimed at the young adult market (alas not my demographic) but as this is Matt Haig I couldn't resist. This story is set in the not too distant future. Global warming has taken a hold on the planet and people lead their lives supported by an army of robotic servants called Echos. Technology has advanced to a level that the Echos are beyond robots and the heroine's father is an anti technology activist caught up between two warring mega companies who are constantly pushing the boundaries with their new 'products'. Sound familiar? This is an interesting story filled with imaginative details and interesting moral dilemmas. I did think it span slightly out of control when it ended up more of an action story rather than a cerebral experience. The narrators are undoubtably skilled but I thought their voices were wrong. The main characters are two teenagers and yet they sounded flat and middle aged and there was no sense of youthful vigour. The story progressed to a satisfactory ending and it was an overall worthwhile experience. It's just tha I can't wait for Matt to write another book aimed at his more mature audience.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

H Ireland

04-06-17

Matt Haig excellent as ever

I have enjoyed each and every book of Matt Haigs since I discovered his work here on audible. His books are mirrors to the soul. He has the ability to make traverse the entire range of human emotions. I would love a sequel to this book in particular.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Sharon

06-14-14

Only ok

What aspect of Jane Collingwood and Thomas Judd ’s performance might you have changed?

To be honest didn't enjoy the narration of Jane Collingworth. Her voice grated a little and she was too clipped with the words she was reading.

Any additional comments?

I am not sure if this is a book for teenagers rather than adults. Perhaps I should have found out before. I think perhaps aimed at the teens market.

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Overall

3 out of 5 stars

Performance

3 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Karen Corner

11-15-16

Not Matt Haig's best

I generally really enjoy Matt Haig's books, The Humans is one of my favourites, this one was an OK listen, but definitely not amazing. It did keep me hooked til the end though so I can't say it's not worth a listen.

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

5 out of 5 stars

Story

5 out of 5 stars

Stacey

01-23-16

Future thinking

What made the experience of listening to Echo Boy the most enjoyable?

Another great read by Matt Haig. This book is not normally the kind of book I would normally read. However I was intrigued, and have read other titles by the same author. I really enjoyed listening to the Eco Boy and would recommend this to anybody who likes stories set in the future.

Overall

1 out of 5 stars

Performance

1 out of 5 stars

Story

1 out of 5 stars

Sandra

07-04-14

Gave up

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Maybe the very younger generation. And that's a Maybe!

What was most disappointing about Matt Haig’s story?

The story(?) line was directed by various way out possibilities of future technology. If the plot was coming to a full stop, some ridiculous bolt hole of miracle (daft) tech constantly came to the rescue. I did not finish this book. A very rare event for me.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Jane Collingwood and Thomas Judd ?

N/A

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Echo Boy?

Too many to name

Any additional comments?

No

1 of 2 people found this review helpful

Overall

5 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

4 out of 5 stars

Mrs Wendy Huggins

06-10-14

A modern day Pinnochio

I enjoyed this read. It's a light, action packed, often funny and probably not as far fetched as we like to think......

0 of 1 people found this review helpful

Overall

4 out of 5 stars

Performance

4 out of 5 stars

Story

3 out of 5 stars

Aranyani

05-30-14

A brilliant start but a lacklustre ending.

Where does Echo Boy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I do love a bit of dystopian sci-fi fiction and at the start it was hitting all of my buttons and I thought it was fantastic. However it seemed to me that halfway through the book it sort of "gave up" with all of the that and just became somewhat predictable. I also found that it also became "skeletal", just the bare bones of a story with little description, as if it was being rushed? It was okay, but it had the basis for something that could have been outstanding.